My local food week

As I’ve mentioned before, part of my initial interest in food politics was inspired by wide-ranging books like Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but my research had to stay tightly focused. I also had to focus on writing the dissertation and made the choice not to get too involved in a community I knew I’d be leaving.

So I’ve been enjoying being able to get involved in various small projects related to local food.

Monday we were assigned a bed in the community garden and I planted the plants we’d purchased the previous day (The Overworked Resident was, naturally, working). It was hot, but it was rewarding to do something with concrete results.

Tuesday I installed a basket on my bike so I’ll be able to carry groceries home. This should make it easier to cook more and drive less.

Wednesday I tutored a few PCUN (the farmworkers’ union) activists in English in the morning, something I’ve been doing weekly. Then the union president took me to a farm that works with the union and they gave me samples of pesticide-free, union-label produce to take to stores in Portland to see if they’d be interested in carrying the product. The cucumbers and tomatoes were some of the best I’ve ever had, so I hope they do! Traffic was horrible (4 mph on I-5!), but it was for an important cause.

Thursday, as always, I spent the day working at The South Waterfront Farmers Market. I’m enjoying getting to know some of the vendors: a lot of hard working people full of positive energy. And, as always, SNAP match makes me happy.

It’s cool to be able to integrate these things into my days, but obviously easier for me because my schedule is so flexible. I know I’ll have to make adjustments when I start working full time.